Road signs, signals and road markings
The signs, signals and markings domain tests whether you can read the road itself, not just the vehicles on it - because on Kiribati roads paint fades fast under salt spray and signs are sometimes hidden by foliage, stalls or parked trucks.
The three families
- Regulatory (must obey): red circles forbid (no entry, no overtaking, a speed limit roundel); blue circles command (turn left, keep left); octagon = STOP; inverted triangle = GIVE WAY.
- Warning: red-bordered triangles flag a hazard ahead - bend, junction, school, pedestrians, animals, uneven surface.
- Information: rectangles give place names, directions, hospitals and services.
Signals
Red, amber and green: green means proceed only if the way is clear, amber means stop unless you are too close to stop safely, red means stop behind the line. A police officer's hand signals override lights and signs - obey the officer.
Markings
- Solid white centre line: do not cross or straddle it.
- Broken white line: you may cross to overtake only when the road ahead is clear.
- Stop line: stop before it, not on it, at a STOP sign.
- Keep left of the centre line at all times except when legally overtaking, passing a stationary hazard, or positioning for a right turn.
Worked example
You approach a junction where the octagonal sign is faded and partly behind a breadfruit tree, and the centre line turns solid 30 m before the junction. Reasoning: the shape identifies a STOP even when the lettering cannot be read; the solid line bans overtaking on the approach. Action: stop at the line, check both directions, then move off when clear.
Traps
Treating GIVE WAY as STOP and rolling through; assuming a broken line makes overtaking safe; ignoring an officer because the light is green; missing a low sign hidden behind a parked truck.